[Ohiogift] Public Education NewsBlast — October 5, 2015

[Art Snyder]

?
 
 NewsBlast is back! Financial constraints have turned us into a monthly publication,?but we are committed to?keeping this public education voice alive.?Each month, we will continue to highlight?and share?the work and controversies of public education with an emphasis on school climate and community schools. This month: Student trauma and trauma-sensitive schools.?See you in November!


?    October 5, 2015 - In This Issue:
The trauma of poverty
Is trauma a disability?
Seeking teacher training, mental health support, and conflict mediation
The brain and body of a traumatized student
Trauma and the achievement gap
An alternative to suspension
Law enforcement, schools, and counselors working in concert
The comprehensive needs of D.C.'s children
Promising developments
Trauma-sensitive policies
 The trauma of poverty
Student misbehavior and "acting out" are often indicators of trauma, writes Laura Kain of Transform Schools. Poverty, sexual abuse, domestic violence, parental drug use, incarceration, or mental illness are just some of the issues that contribute to traumatic experiences that profoundly impact a child's developing brain and body. Children living in poor neighborhoods suffer traumatic incidents with greater frequency, witnessing or becoming the victims of violence. They struggle with pernicious daily stressors that include food or housing insecurity, living in overcrowded households, with overworked or underemployed, stressed-out parents. When trauma occurs as a series of experiences where reactions overlap, it adds complexity to the response, also known as "complex trauma," and leads to increasingly pervasive and harmful effects, including cognitive, academic, and social and emotional functioning. Teachers can't change that students are affected by trauma outside the classroom; they can, however, adjust responses inside classrooms to foster a compassionate and responsive learning environment. Teachers, and the teacher-student relationship, are the most critical factors in improving educational outcomes for students. The right interventions make a huge difference, and start with the creation of trauma-informed classrooms, schools, and communities.
?More
 Is trauma a disability?
At a time when districts across America are attempting to craft responsive discipline policies, a lawsuit against Compton Unified School District raises two questions, writes Stacy Teicher Khadaroo in The Christian Science Monitor. To what degree should schools be expected to address the effects of childhood trauma? And is a lawsuit that frames these effects as a disability the best path? In Compton, many students witness violent deaths or have been placed in foster care. The lawsuit alleges the district offered no training around trauma, and offered little to no mental health counseling. Students dealing with multiple traumas were punished and excluded in ways that made it difficult for them to succeed in school. The district's inattention violates federal anti-discrimination laws requiring accommodations for students with disabilities, according to the lawsuit, because disabilities include conditions that cause impairment of everyday activities like learning, thinking, concentrating, and focusing. Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, which filed the case in conjunction with Irell & Manella LLP, argues that addressing trauma even in a budget-tight district is possible. The cost of teacher absenteeism and turnover related to unaddressed student trauma is higher than the cost of training staff and providing more mental-health counseling, he feels.?More
 Seeking teacher training, mental health support, and conflict mediation
A class-action lawsuit against the Compton Unified School District could have a major impact on schools across the country, reports Cory Turner for NPR. Last year, Compton's murder rate was five times higher than the national average; a group of students say they've been traumatized by life in Compton and that schools there have failed to help. The complaint is a terrifying read, Turner says: of kids coping with physical and sexual abuse, addicted parents, homelessness, and a constant fear of violence. Susan Ko of the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress says exposure to violence can profoundly affect the brain's ability to learn, and many traumatized students live in a state of chronic alarm. Innocent interactions like a bump in the hallway or a request from a teacher can prompt raging outbursts. The lawsuit alleges that in Compton, the schools' reaction to traumatized students was usually punishment. The suit argues trauma is a disability, and that schools are required -- by federal law -- to accommodate traumatized students, not expel them. The plaintiffs seek teacher training, mental health support for students, and conflict-mediation before suspension. Compton Unified has asked the judge to dismiss the case.?More
 The brain and body of a traumatized student
In an interview for the Attachment and Trauma network, Joe Ristuccia of the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative explains that trauma is not an event in itself, but how we respond to that event. Traumatized students feel overwhelmed, their ability to cope dramatically undermined. Traumatic childhood experiences can lead to a cascade of social, emotional, and cognitive difficulties, Ristuccia says, that not only impact school success but can lead to high-risk behaviors, such as substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, cutting, eating disorders, and other difficulties. Neurobiologically, students with significant traumatic experience are impacted in brain systems that control language, memory, and specifically, sequential memory. Trauma response in the limbic system lives in the primitive part of the brain, which is more reactive, so often students with significant traumatic experience come to school and aren't operating from the thoughtful part of the brain, they're operating from the reactive part. In addition, students with significant traumatic experience are often on a daily rollercoaster of stress hormone injection into their bloodstream, which impacts their ability to focus, as well as their behavior and presentation.?More

 Trauma and the achievement gap
Ex?perts say it's time to address trauma and learning for young adults from vi?ol?ent com?munit?ies if we intend to boost national col?lege gradu?ation rates, writes Janell Ross in The National Journal. Twenty-one mil?lion American stu?dents will at?tend col?lege in the U.S. this fall, with black and Latino stu?dents having made the largest en?roll?ment gains over the past decade. Yet black and Latino graduation rates have not been matched enrollment, and the link between trauma and learn?ing has been not?ably ab?sent from the col?lege com?ple?tion de?bate. In general, in?ter?ven?tions have fo?cused on the young?est chil?dren. But Chris?toph?er Blod?gett of Wash?ing?ton State Uni?versity's Col?lab?or?at?ive Learn?ing for Edu?ca?tion?al Achieve?ment and Re?si?li?ency (CLEAR) Trauma Cen?ter says that chil?dren and teens of col?or from low-in?come and vi?ol?ence-rid?den com?munit?ies ex?per?i?ence a pil?ing on that re?search?ers call com?plex trauma. Moreover, so?ci?olo?gist Ju?lia Burdick-Will at Johns Hop?kins Uni?versity found that com?munity vi?ol?ence de?presses stu?dent scores. Burdick-Will used Chica?go Pub?lic Schools and po?lice data to ex?am?ine grades and stand?ard?ized test scores of stu?dents be?fore and after vi?ol?ent events in their neigh?bor?hood. "Since we know that test scores suf?fer," Burdick-Will says, "high-stakes test?ing and heavy re?li?ance on test scores for col?lege ad?mis?sions puts kids who ex?per?i?ence com?munity or school vi?ol?ence at a dis?tinct dis?ad?vant?age."?More An alternative to suspension
Research shows nearly half of all U.S. children have experienced trauma tied to poverty or family dysfunction, writes Meredith Kolodner for The Hechinger Report. Repeated exposure rewires the brain, which calls into question "zero-tolerance" school-discipline policies. Spiking expulsions and suspensions have disproportionately affected low-income black and Latino students: Wisconsin suspended 34 percent of its black students in 2011-2012; Florida suspended 37 percent of kids with learning disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education has issued new guidelines to lower suspension rates, but beyond this, research finds any punitive environment causes anxiety and poor relationships. As a corrective, 13 Connecticut schools are working with Animated Learning by Integrating and Validating Experience (ALIVE), a trauma-response program that uses drama therapists to identify trauma, prevent escalation, and respond to acting-out. Therapists offer one-on-one therapy, and use role-playing in interventions. Metropolitan Business Academy High School in New Haven, a program participant, hosts a social worker, six social-work interns, and three part-time drama therapists from ALIVE. In three years, suspensions there have dropped by two-thirds, to just three percent. Physical fights have gone from 40 in 2010 to fewer than five this year. Graduation rates reached 90 percent in 2014, and college enrollment was 70 percent in 2012. "Some say punishment will extinguish bad behavior. I'd say the opposite," says Principal Judith Puglisi.?More Law enforcement, schools, and counselors working in concert
In West Virginia, a multidisciplinary program identifies and treats trauma in real time, writes Bethany Bray for Counseling Today. The Defending Childhood Initiative (DCI) brings together law enforcement, school staff, and mental health professionals to create a safety net for youth. For example, a child might witness police response to a domestic violence incident at home early in the morning. Through DCI, police are trained to note whether a child was present, find out what school the child attends, and file a "handle with care" notice. The form doesn't give details, but lets a school know the student may need extra attention. In other cases, a parent or caregiver might alert the school about a parent's impending military deployment, or the death of an extended family member. After being alerted, DCI's network kicks in to provide whatever the child may need at school -- from a space to shower, nap and change clothes to a chance to retake a test or recurring sessions with a trauma-focused therapist. Law enforcement personnel and entire school staffs -- principals to cafeteria workers -- complete DCI training to help them identify and be sensitive to child trauma. The first pilot schools in West Virginia adopted the program in 2013. In less than two years, law enforcement recorded 414 incidents involving 768 children through DCI. Following its success in five pilot schools at the elementary, middle and high schools levels, DCI is poised to expand statewide.?More The comprehensive needs of D.C.'s children
A report from the Children's Law Center argues that the performance gap in the District of Columbia cannot be closed without comprehensive school- and city-wide interventions that specifically address children's exposure to trauma. Children in the District experience higher-than-average levels of abuse and neglect, community and family violence, and homelessness. Whether a child witnesses a one-time traumatic event or feels cumulative effects of ongoing trauma, these experiences affect every area of a child's life, including her ability to succeed in school. Trauma-sensitive schools can improve academics by helping children become emotionally available to learn. Educators who are trauma sensitive understand that children must feel safe in order assimilate information. Structure and limits don't mean unbending rules; they provide a sense of safety for children through predictable patterns and relationships with adults. Chief among the report's policy recommendations is the need to appoint a District-wide coordinator to provide technical assistance to schools, and coordinate trauma-informed efforts. Additionally, the District should require all schools to adopt a trauma plan and train staff to recognize and respond to trauma. These plans should be made available to the public, as should progress that schools make in this area.?More Promising developments
Over the past 15 years, researchers have learned that highly stressful childhood experiences are more prevalent than previously understood, writes David Bornstein in The New York Times. Scientists now understand the mechanisms by which these experiences change the brain and body, with far-reaching implications for schools. It's still standard to punish children for misbehavior that they often can't control -- comparable to punishing a child for having a seizure, in Bornstein's view. Yet alternative practices are taking hold, though practice lags well behind knowledge. The Massachusetts state legislature is reviewing a bill that would require all schools in the state to create "safe and supportive" environments drawing on trauma research. The Crittenton Children's Center, based in Kansas City, has shown impressive results with its Head Start -- Trauma Smart program, which is expanding in Missouri and Kansas. In Philadelphia, the Institute for Safe Families has launched a citywide task force to focus on responses to trauma in pediatric settings. We send a powerful message about our values when we make accommodations for people with disabilities; schools send powerful messages by the way they treat children whose behavior falls outside normal bounds. They can mete out punishment in ways that reinforce judgments and hierarchies and perpetuate crises -- or can respond in ways that deepen understanding about others and build supportive communities.?More Trauma-sensitive policies
For too many children, exposure to violence and trauma denies them an education that will prepare them for the realities of the 21st century, argues a report from Futures Without Violence. Forty-six million children in the United States will be exposed to violence, crime, abuse, or psychological trauma in a given year -- two out of every three children. The report recommends federal support of states, local jurisdictions, and tribes through resources to parents, guardians, and other caregivers. The government should also offer significant state incentives to create school climates that are trauma-sensitive and keep students in school, involved in positive social networks, and out of the juvenile justice system. States should support training of child- and youth-serving professionals to respond to child exposure to violence with a trauma-informed approach. A White House task force should convene to draft youth violence and trauma-prevention goals, and to determine how federal resources can support these. Services must support two-generation, trauma-informed approaches; coordinate efforts among schools, homes, and communities; and ensure gender-specific and culturally competent practices. Finally, federal, state, and local governments and tribes should support public campaigns to increase awareness of the adverse effects of childhood exposure to violence and trauma.?More Quote of the Week:?



"School fail?ure isn't con?cen?trated in poor com?munit?ies ran?domly. Many kids are ab?so?lutely in sur?viv?al mode. They're think?ing, 'I don't care if I gradu?ate col?lege. I need to fig?ure out how to get home safely right now,' or, 'I don't care if I'm in pris?on in 10 years be?cause I need to eat to?night and get down this block alive this af?ter?noon.' Their teach?ers may or may not get that." -- Jaleel K. Ab?dul-Adil of the Uni?versity of Illinois' Urb?an Youth Trauma Cen?ter. More

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